Reaction product of a xanthate, an inorganic sulfide, and a copper salt



water; -usefulapplication e. g., such copper comabove ground:

Patented Sept. 8, 1953 v STATE INQRGA IQSULFIDE, Annapurna SALT Sidney- B. Tuwiner,

Baldwin, N. Y'., assignor to Phelps Dodge. Corporation; a corporation .of: New York New; York, N. Y.,

No Drawing. Apnlicationsleptemher 26,, 1,950,,

This invention relates to an organic; composition of' a metal, such as copper, that is 'solublein oil and various organic solvents, and to the preparation of such a composition. Various compounds of copper have been p'reparedheretofore which are organic in nature and relativelysoluble in oils and various solvents, but which are relatively insoluble -in Compounds of this nature have various pounds as copper resi-nates and'naphthenates rare commonlyusedas fungicides or preservatives for impregnating wood/cloth, and in various agricultural sprays. A compound of the oil soluble type applied to asurf-ace exposed tothe weather'is usually more efiective because of its greater resistance to the washing'and leaching action of the rain,- This is true Whether the product isappliedto the leaves of plants for the control of fungus infections, or whether the prod- {uct is applied to wood, such as'piling that is driven into wet groundor exposed'to the weather Such oi-l soluble organic compounds of cop- 'per,- however, either have been solubleonly to a' limited extent, or have contained very little coppe'ninproportio-nto theirtotal weight. Thus, it has been only in rare instances,-; heretofore,

that such a copper compoundcoul'd'be "made to form a solution containingas' much-asof copper, the active fungicidal constituent.

It is anobject ofthisinvention to provide a composition that consists essentially of a com- '-'pound or mixtureof compounds of copper, that contains as much as 50% or more of the metal.

and that can be dissolved to form solutions in hydrocarbon oils containing as much as 40% of copper.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a process of preparing such compositions by a relatively simple reaction and by the use of relatively inexpensive and easily prepared solutions.

The products of my invention are prepared by reacting in solution, preferably aqueous solution, a xanthate and a sulfide with a salt or compound of copper. As a practical matter it is best to use cuprous salts. The higher valence or oxidized forms of the compounds could be used, but if cupric compounds are employed, they would first be reduced by the action of the sulfide and xanthate so that the final reaction in any case would take place between the sulfidexanthate mixture and the cuprous compound. It is much better, therefore, as a practical matj bon solvents. natureandforms an oil solution of an intense 1 "so-1am. 12863 13 8 Claims. (Cl; 2604-1438.).

ter to start-with the lower valence type ofconr- -It is not known'whether' the reaction product thus obtained is asing'lecompound or a mixture of different'i-ndivi-dual compounds. At any event, the reaction product is a complex sulfide- 'x-anthate composition that differs from previously known organic metal compounds of this type in itssol-ubili-ty in oils, alcohols and hydrocar The product is amorphous in and deep'red color. Such a solution of the copper productwhen spread upon a surface so that the solvent is evaporated, forms a brittle, resinousfi-lm which has a semi-metallic-lustra T The compositions of my inventionare preferably made byusing a mixture of xanthate and sulfide in approximately the ratioof Pr mole of sulfide for eachz mols-of xanthate; From 2 to mols of sulfideca-n be-used for each 2- mole of Xanthate with good'results although the best solubili ty'is' obtained with the 3 to 2 ratio. For

best results, theamountof copper compound: employed should be approximately equivalentto the combined amount of the'x'anthateand sul-r fi'dje: thecase of cuprous compounds" I con-- f'sider each atom of copper as equivalent to one inolgof-xanthate, or to one-halfmolof'sulfide;

l have' also found that" in order to obtain the best products it is highly desirable to use} a xantliate-that' is purified insome manner be- Y fore the reaction with thecopper compoundtakes place? If an impure or commercial type of xanthate product used, the efficiency offthe reaction is very low and even less than half of the copper; in the prcd-uct'maybe solubley The following; specific" example is given" to illust'ratemy invention although it' is to beu'ndters'toocl-thttt the reaction can be carried out in any kind of a solution, and by a reaction in which the components are combined in one batch at a time or continuously.

Example I .-A purified Water soluble xanthate was first prepared from a saturated solution in water of a commercial potassium methyl isobutyl carbinol xanthate. Sodium chloride crystals were added to this saturated xanthate solu' tionover a period of two hours with agitation at room temperature until the solution had been saturated with the sodium chloride. A slurry was thus formed which contained the crystallized xanthate salt that had separated from the solution, leaving the impurities in the solution. These xanthate crystals were then separated by centrifuging and washed with a saturated soluto form a solution which'was 0.3'75- molar with respect to the potassium methyl isobutyl carbinol asthma equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. An oil soluble organiccomposition which comprises the reactionproduct in aqueous solution of a mixture of a water soluble xanthate and a water soluble inorganic sulfide with an equivaxanthate and 0.5625 molar with respect to so- 3 dium sulfide. This solution wascausedtoi flow.

into the side arm of a T connection with water. flowing through the main part of the T., The

lent amount of a water soluble salt of copper.

v2. An oilsoluble organic composition which comprises thereaction product in aqueous solution of a: mixture of a xanthate and an inorganic sulfidein the approximate proportions of 2 mols .ofxanthate to 2 to 4 mols of sulfide with approximately an equivalent amount of a water soluble cuprous salt.

water was flowed through at the rate of 10 liters per minute. The sulfide and xanthate solution was flowed into this stream at the rate 01158.6

cc./min. and a short distance downstream from .the T a solution of sodium cuprous chloride was flowed into the stream at the rate of 212.4 -.cc./min., This latter solution contained 71.16 gins/L of copper, 209.3 gins/L of chloride, and @039 g ns/L of sulphate. The reaction product suspended in the stream of water was discharged .into a tank of suitable capacity where the precipitate was allowed to settle and then separated by filtration. The precipitate was washed with 7 water, air dried, and then dissolved in an appropriate solvent, such as xylol. It was found .thatby following this procedure about 96% of -.the copper in the product was soluble.

Various sulfides such as ammonium sulfide,

potassium sulfide, or even a neutralized solution 1 ,of His may be employed instead of sodium sulfide. Other xanthates mayof course be used 1 although withthe lower homologous xanthates ,there isa much greater tendency for the com pound to olymerize, and solutions of the lower ,xanthates may become unstable .even at room temperatures. I found that in general the primary and normal xanthates are preferable to the secondary and isoxanthates.

.The salting out procedure is satisfactory for purifying any of the more complex xanthates that are not as soluble in water as sodium chloride. Otherxanthates will have to be purified by other procedures and techniques as will be .understood by those skilled in the art.

Compositions prepared as described herein may be used directly in the form of solutions in oils 91' suitable hydrocarbon solvents, or the oil solutions may be applied with the aid of a dispersant such asfreon.

The terms and expressions which I have em- ,ployed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use 0f such terms and expressions, of excluding any 3. An oil soluble organic product obtained by reaction in aqueous solution of a purified xanthate and an inorganic sulfide with an equivalent amount of water soluble cuprous salt.

4. An organic copper composition that is soluble or miscible with oilsv and hydrocarbon solvents which comprises the reaction product in aqueous solution of a purified high molecular weight xanthate and an inorganic sulfide with approximately an equivalent amount of water soluble cuprous salt. a

5. An organic copper composition that is soluble or miscible with oils and hydrocarbon solvents which comprises the reaction product in aqueous solution of approximately 3 mols of an inorganic sulfide and 2 mols of a purified xenthate with approximately an equivalent amount of a water soluble cuprous salt.

6. A method of preparing an-oil soluble organic copper composition which comprises reacting in aqueous solution a mixture of an inorganic sulfide and a xanthate, with a water soluble copper salt.

'7 A method of preparing an oil soluble organic copper composition which comprises reacting in aqueous solution an inorganic sulfide and a xan- .thate in the proportions of about 2 to 4 mols of sulfide to 2 mols of xanthate, with approximately an equivalent amount of a water soluble cuprous salt, and-separating the water insoluble precipitate thus formed.

8. A method of preparing an oil soluble or- !ganic copper composition which comprises reacting in aqueous solution approximately 3 mols of inorganic sulfideand-2 mols of a purified xan- ,thate with approximately an equivalent amount of a water soluble cuprous salt, and separating the precipitate thus formed. v

SIDNEYB. TUWIN ERF No references cited. 

1. AN OIL SOLUBLE ORGANIC COMPOSITION WHICH COMPRISES THE REACTION PRODUCT IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A MIXTURE OF A WATER SOLUBLE XANTHATE AND A WATER SOLUBLE INORGANIC SULFIDE WITH AN EQUIVALENT AMOUNT OF A WATER SOLUBLE SALT OF COPPER. 